Collapsible awning



Jan. 27, 1948. J. T. FREEMAN 2,435,073

COLLAPSIBLE AwNiNe Filed Feb. 15, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 27, 1948 J.T. FREEMAN COLLAPSIBLE AWNING 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 13, 1945 Jan. 27, 1948. J. T. FREEMAN 2,435,073

COLLAPS IBLE AWNING Filed Feb. 13, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 fag 2Q Jan. 27, 1948. .J. T. FREEMAN 2,435,073

COLLAPS IBLE AWNING Filed Feb. 13, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Jan. 27, 1948 COLEAPSIBLE AWNING:

J orge'EeofiloFreeman, Buenos Aires, Argentina Application February 1-3, 1945, Serial No. 577,647 In- Argentina December 29, 1944 (C1. mil-62) 4: Claims.

Thepresent' invention: refersto improvements, in. or relating to awnings and more particularly refers. to a collapsible awning consisting ofgunits made of-rigid' and weathereresisting material;

The awnings now in use in order to. p e entrances, shop windows and other places: are;

generally made of canvas or-similar flexible materialand, while they are more or less satisfactory in providing shelter from the sun and rain,v they have the distinct disadvantage of suffering from the, effects of atmospherical conditions. Thus, when exposed to rain or wind, they are soontornz or damaged, and. under the influence of rain. or sunshine. they discolor within a relativeshort period of. time. lnrviewv of. this, many shop keepers do not unfold the canvas awnings above their shop windows onentrances when there are adverse weather conditions, in order tQC avoid their deterioration which, ofxcourse, means that the awning is not used for the purpose for which it is really destined. onzthe other: hand; in: those cases in which theawning must. necessarily be used, for instance, when the awning. is. used to protect tables and: chairs placed on the pavement infront of arestaurant, the life of'the;

canvas awning is very limited and it must beperiodically. replaced in order to conform; to the minimum: requirements; of: aspect. and appearance.:

The principal purpose'of myiinvention consists:

in providin an awning'whichtwill not be damaged, discolored or otherwise deteriorated byv theefiects of weather conditions and which willipreserve, for practically. unlimited" periods: oftime, its original. aspect and physical properties even: if it is used day: and night and exposed" to thevarying conditions of weather or seasonal,

changes.

Another main purpose of my. invention resides in providing an collapsible awning consisting of a number of units made of 'rigid and. weather-re sisting material:

Av further object of my invention isvto provideanawning that may be given any desired shape; that is; it may have plain surfaces or-these may bechannelledi. grooved, corrugated etc., on for ad.- vertisingrpurposeszthe; awning may take, the shape, or 'form. of a. shoe, umbrella, cuprandresaucer, etc-., thereby; alluding to; the nature'of the shop. with; whichit': is associated. Also, if: desired,.the.- awning may-have the shape of a-tunnel or covered. corridor in which case it may be: used: in front of. church, entrances, hotels or clubs; particularlyfor marriages orsimilarceremoniesr.

A still further object. ofgthe presentinvention;

is to providean awning made of transparent or opaque material permitting the obtention of certain light efiects within the space covered by theawning. This feature; may be used for advertising purposes or, iftheawningis. associated with a shop Window, the same. enables a given light. effect to be obtained. 1113011111116 goods exhibited in the shop window. Thus, for instance, it is possible to form the awning from colored material which colors the rays of lightpassing throughthe sameand thereby, when used above a' shop window causes the. entire shop-window tobe i11umi;- nated in-the respective given color;

An: additional important object of my invention: resides in providing; a collapsible awning comprising anumber ofinterchangeable units. This feature enables the use of; say, opaque and heatinsulating material in order to give shelter from the sun, and the use oftransparent material in the same awning on rainy or cloudy days.

In order to achieve theseobjects and others which will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention which will be given hereinafter, the awning of the present invention comprises a frame adapted to be supported on a. suitable support element, forinstance, the wallof a building, and a number of units movably' arranged on said frame, each unit-being. provided:

with downwardly, extending members adapted to each individual unit, except the lowermost. unit isprovided at one of its, ends with downwardly.

extending members adapted to slide onv rails-like members of the supporting frame, andwith relatively. short projections, arranged at'theopposite end and adapted to slide ontheu'pper sur face-of the next adjacent unit,the lowermost unit providedv at the two; opposite. ends; with; down wardlyextending members adapted to slidewon;

rail-like members of the-frame.

Other features ofmy-invention will become eyie dent from the. following; detailed description. thereof, in which reference will be made to thev accompanyingv drawings; which illustrateby. way" of. example some preferred. embodiments 'of the invention and in which:

ure, 1 is; a perspective view of one. of the units employed in the. awning of thepresent invention;

FigureZ isasimilar-view oianother-unit which.

is also employed in the awning of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a horizontal projection of several of the units when joined together;

Figure 4 is a section on line AA of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a unit according to another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6 is a front elevation of one of the units mounted on the supporting frame;

Figure 7 is a sectional view of the same unit, the section being taken on line BB of Fig. 6;

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the awning including the frame, the same being shown in the position in which it is used;

Figure 9 is a similar view showing the awning and frame in folded state;

Figure 10 is a front view of the awning showing some further structural details;

Figure 11 shows a side elevation of the awning comprising a rigid frame; and

Figures 12, 13 and 14 show several forms or shapes of the awning according to the present invention.

The same reference numerals have been used throughout the several figures in order to designate equal or equivalent parts of the device.

Referring first to Figures 8 and 9, it will be seen that the awning is secured to the wall b of a building, in which a cavity l5 has been made, this cavity having such shape and size that the awning may be kept therein in folded state. At the lower end of the cavity l5, two or more rail like members II are pivotally fixed to the wall I) at I4. These members II are connected together by means of a transversal bar [3 (Fig. 10), the rails II and the transversal bar l3 thus forming a supporting frame capable of effecting a pivotal movement about the pins of pivots Hi. In the position shown in Figure 1, the supporting frame is inclined, that is, the transversal bar I 3 is in a horizontal plane below the plane in which the pivotal supports M are situated; preferably the transversal bar l3, should be provided with an upwardly extending flange forming an abutment as best shown in Figure 8 of the drawings.

The frame may be further supported, if desired, by the auxiliary supporting bars shown in Figure 8. Further, above the cavity i 5 there may be provided a cover I9, pivotally connected to wall b at 20.

The frame carries a plurality of individual units l and la adapted to efi'ect a sliding movement on the rails II in the longitudinal direction thereof. As shown in Figure 8, the units constitute a step-wise arrangement, the front units being lower in height than those which are nearer to the wall I), and the height of the units gradually increases up to that of the uppermost unit i. This latter unit has been illustrated in detail in Figures 1, 6 and 7.

With reference to Figure 1, the unit I consists of a sheet or slab of rectangular shape provided at one of its edges with two downwardly extending members 2 and at the opposite edge with three downwardly extending projections 3. The sheet may be made of any suitable material, preferably of plastic material having good weather-resisting properties, and if desired, being colored and transparent. The projections 3 and also the downwardly extending membersl may be integral with the sheet, and the preferred method of manufacturing them is by molding. However in some cases it may be advisable to have removable downwardly extending memb 4 2 which may be fixed to the body of the unit by means of screws. In this case the downwardly extending members may be made of metal.

The remaining units la as shown in Figure 2 are substantially similar to units I, but apart from downwardly extending members 2a and downwardly extending projections So, they have on their upper positioned surface three upward- 1y extending projections or butts 4, which are positioned exactly opposite the projections 3a. The position of the projections 3a and downwardly extending members 2a on the units la coincide with the position of projections 3 and members 2, respectively on unit I, but on the other hand, the downwardly extending members 2a are shorter than members 2, the difference in height being somewhat greater than the thickness of the body of the units.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the units are resting on the supporting frame in overlapping relation and thus constitute a stepwise arrangement. The uppermost unit rests by means of its projections 3 on the upper surface on the adjacent unit Ia and, as they engage when the awning is opened, butts 4 of the adjacent unit la, both units are loosely joined together, the projections 3 and butts 4 having the effect of hooks which will limit the relative movement between the units in opposite directions. The remaining units are in the same manner loosely joined together with the lower next unit, respectively.

The downwardly extending members 2 and 2a are provided with rollers or wheels 8 (Figures 6 and 7) adapted to run on the rail-like members ll of the frame. The wheels 8 are mounted on suitable bearings 9 which, for a purpose which will be explained later, have openings 2| a jacent their lower ends.

The lowermost unit Ia has at its lower end projections 3a provided with similar bearings and with rollers or wheels adapted to run on rails H.

Some parts of the mechanism for operating the device have been represented in Figure 8 of the drawings according to which said mech-- anism may comprise a flexible cable 22 passing over a drum 23 mounted in a small cavity or chamber 24 made in the wall b. One end of the cable is secured to the drum 23 which may be driven in both directions by any suitable mechanism (not shown). The other end, after having been passed through the openings 2| of bearing members 9, is secured to the downwardly extending member 2a of the lowermost unit. A similar arrangement may be made at the opposite lateral end of the device so that there be two cables and two drums which latter should preferably be interconnected by a shaft 25 or the like in order to be rotated with the same speed. Also if desired, one cable and drum may be used in the central part of the units in which case a suitable downwardly extending projection should be provided at least on the lowermost unit id to which the cable would be secured.

If desired, the cable 22 may be used in order to lift the entire frame from the position shown in Figure 8 until it assumes the position illustrated in Figure 9, that is, in order to cause the frame to swing about the pin of pivot I 4 in a counter-clockwise direction. In such case, it may be desirable to maintain the entire assembly when it assumes the position shown in Figure 9, slightly outwardly inclined so that, if the frame is to be lowered, it will start moving due to its aaaa'm-sa own weight as soon as the drum 23 is released... Generally however, I prefer a. separate mechanism (not shown) for lifting and lowering. the frame consisting of-v rails H and transversal member l3, which may be. any of the mechanisms known for this purpose.

The foregoing will sufficiently explain the simple operation of the device. In order to close the awning, the drum 23 is driven in a counterclockwise direction. so that the lowermost unit will move towards the adjacent unit Ea. As soon as its downwardly extending member 2a engages that of the neXt adjacent unit it will push the latter in the same direction and this effect will be again produced as soon as the downwardly extending member 2a of the second unit engages that of the third one, and so on until all units la have reached the space beneath the uppermost unit I. Once the units are in this position, the' frame may be lifted and the entire device will enter into the cavity it. the rails ii being kept in channels or grooves it provided for this purpose in the wall b. In order to lower the awning, the drum will be driven in clockwise direction and the results will be inverted.

In Figure 5, I have shown another embodiment of the units used in accordance with my invention. Instead of the units shown in Figures 1 and 2, I may use a frame-like structure 6, adapted to receive slabs or sheets of plastic or any other suitable material. The frame 3 is provided with downwardly ext-ending members 2 and at the op posite end with downwardly extending projections 3, and on the upper surface, above the downwardly extending members 2, it has upwardly extending projections or butts adapted to engage when the awning is unfolded, the projections 3 of the upper next frame-like structure 6. If the awning is of considerable width, it may be advisable to reenfcrce the structure 5 by transversal strips '3 as shown in Figure 5, or to make the slabs or sheets of a smaller width than that of the awning, and in this case, the frame-like structure 6 should have two or more sub-divisions. If desired clamping means or the like may be provided to retain the slab or sheet within the frame, or if same comprises several sub-divisions, within the respective sub-divisions. The frame-like structure 5 permits interchangeable slabs or sheets to be employed.

The assembly of the frame-like structures 5 is identical with the above described arrangement of the units shown in Figures 1 and 2, and it will be evident that the only change involved is that the slabs are not directly supported from the frame H, l3 but are carried by the frame-like structures 6 which in turn are slidably supported from the frame ll, 53 by means of the rails H' and rollers or wheels 8 already described. If I use the structure shown in Figure 5,. I prefer to have the walls of the. partitions or sub-divisions flush with the slabs or sheets carried by the structure, but, if desired, the longitudinal wallsof. the partitions may be somewhat lower than the surfaces of the slabs, so that they constitute grooves or channels through which the water may run down if the device is used in the rain, and water collecting means may be. arranged at the lower end of the grooves. Also, if desired, the frame-- like structure 6 may comprise, for instance, two partitions, the separating wall between these being somewhat higher than the walls at the lateral ends thereof, so that the slabs will be downwardly inclined towards the lateral sides of the awning and form a structure similar to the roof of a changeable,-- they may be provided (as already" gable; In thisrcasethe. water will run towards. the; lateral sides of, the: awnings .:where. suitable.

collecting means may" bevv provided...

Fi'gureilli show another embodiment of my int-:-

vention. In this. case the. rails l i instead of being. pivotally attached to the wall I), are: rigidly se-.

cured thereto, and, if desired,.they may rest: with. Above the; frame; at a height'somewhat; abovev thev uppermost unit 2, a. cover plate I! is arran'gedand. the.

their oppositeaends on columns: I3;

units may be kept, when. the awning is closed, in. the space existing'between the cover plate IT and rails Hi. In order toreducein this position the size of the rails Hi, they may be. provided at:

one. or more. points: intermediate. their ends with pivotal articulations or hinges M permitting the rails'to: be folded up. These hinges may permit.

swinging movement around: horizontal axes (that is, the corresponding parts of the rails are swung. upwardly or downwardly) or around vertical axis,

(that is, the rails may be collapsed bymovementi' in the directions. indicated by the arrows in Fig ure 10)..

Figures 12', 13 and 14 illustrate some shapes:

which the awning according'to the'present invention, may be'given for advertising or other purposes. The hook-like joints constituted by'the. overlapping projections 3, 3a and 4, respectively, are situated. at. convenient places according to the requirements of. aspect or appearance and de:-:-

ly horizontal plane. In this. event, the operating:

mean should permit the units i, la or 6 to be driven in both directions which may be achieved for instance, by an endless cable. Further in some: cases, it maybe: desired to have the units I, la, or 6-, movable in a. direction parallel to the wall I): to which frame. is attached. In this case,

the rails Hare of course arranged parallel to the: wall I). and the projections and downwardly ex tending members are to be disposed accordingly. This arrangement may be convenient for in-- stance, where the awning is to be used above the entrance of av shop" and two shop windows ar-' ranged symmetrically at. the sides of the entrance. In this case, I may mount two supporting frames which are-downwardly inclined into opposite lateral directions from the space. above the. entrance, and the. units adapted to be moved laterally from the space above the entrance'to; wards the ends of the two shop windows respectively and vice-versa. In other cases, where thespaceto be. covered by the. awningis much larger than; usual, f or; instance "in. front. of restaurants,

the. weight; of; the entire. structure .may' bersuch; that. there will; be considerable.friction. whencthesprojections 3; to. travel. during the sliding" move? ment. of the unitsalong: the upper surface ofthe a slabs or sheets of the units. Todecrease the fric--- tion, rollers 01: wheels may be. provided at the lower ends. of the projections 3 and 3a; associated if desired, with runways disposed onthe uppersurfaces of the slabs'or'sheets. With reference to the embodiment of Figure-5, I already pointed"- out that this arrangement permits. the use of interchangeable slabs or sheets. the units I and la of Figures 1 and 2 inter-- In order to make 7. pointed out above) with removable downwardly extending members 2, 2a so that one of the units Ia may be made the uppermost unit I and the order of the remaining units may be changed. This interchange may be desirable when colored slabs or sheets are used. Obviously, such removable downwardly extending members 2, 2a may also be used in conjunction with the frame-like structure 6 of Figure or in conjunction with any of the other forms or shapes of units that may be used according to the invention. A further modification of my invention consists in arranging more than one of the units (for instance, those shown in Figure 3) in transversal rows one besides the other. In that case, the number of rails ll must of course be one short of the number of units forming one transversal row. In these cases I prefer the intermediate rails I l to have channel or U-shape the base of which is to be sufiiciently wide as to receive the wheels of the two downwardly extending members 2, 2a which are laterally adjacent in this arrangement. These U-shaped rails, if inclined, may at the same time serve as paths for the water when the awning is used in the rain.

Further, as the uppermost unit remains stationary during the operations of opening and closing the awning, it may be secured to the wall or other support in conjunction with which the awning is used. In this case the uppermost unit I, 6 may be provided with upwardly extending projections 4 engaging a corresponding downwardly extending member or members fixed, for instance, to the cover plate I! or I9. By this arrangement the cable 22 or other operating means is relieved of the function of retaining the units in their respective places when the awning is open since the hook-like projections 3, 3a and 4 will take charge of this work.

It will be evident that any suitable illumination means may be used in connection with the awning. Thus, for example, two slabs or sheets of transparent clear or colored material may be arranged one above the other within the frame-like structure 5 and bulbs together with the necessary wires and electrical connections may be placed within the space between the two slabs or sheets.

If desired, the lower ends of rails ll may be provided with doors or other suitable locking means which may be opened or unlocked when one or more of the units are desired to be removed from the supporting frame ll, l3.

These and other modifications are intended to be included in the scope of the invention as defined in the annexed claims.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

l. A collapsible awning comprising a supporting frame; two rail members forming part of said supporting frame; and a plurality of removable awning units each comprising a fiat substantially sheet shaped awning member of rigid material, at least two supporting members extending downwardly from the lower surface of said awning member and adapted to engage and to slide upon said rail members of said supporting frame; at least one connecting projection extending downwardly from the lower surface of said awning member and adapted to freely slide on the upper surface of an adjacent awning member, and at least one connecting projection extending upwardly from the upper surface of said awning member, and adapted to freely slide on the lower ing frame; two rail members forming part of said supporting frame; and a plurality of removable awning units each comprising a fiat substantially sheet shaped awning member of rigid material, at

least two supporting members extending downwardly from one edge of said awning member and adapted to engage and slide on said rail members of said supporting frame, at least one connecting projection extending downwardly from the opposite edge of said awning member and adapted to freely slide on the upper surface of an adjacent awning member, and at least one connecting proiection extending upwardly from the same edge of said awning member as said downwardly extending supporting members and adapted to freely slide on the lower surface of an adjacent awning member so as to engage said downwardly extending connecting projection on the same.

3. A collapsible awning comprising a supporting frame; two rail members forming part of said supporting frame; and a plurality of removable awning units each comprising an awning frame, at least one awning sheet of rigid material removably supported by said awning frame, at least two supporting members extending downwardly from one edge of said awning frame and adapted to engage and slide upon said rail members of said supporting frame, at least one connecting projection extending downwardly from the opposite edge of said awning frame adapted to freely slide on the upper surface of an adjacent awning frame, and at least one connecting projection extending upwardly from the same edge of said awning frame as said downwardly extending supporting members and adapted to freely slide on the lower surface of an adjacent awning frame so as to engage said downwardly extending connecting projection on the same.

i. A collapsible awning comprising a supporting frame; two rail members forming part of said supporting frame; and a plurality of removable awning units each comprising an awning frame; at least one awning sheet of rigid material removably supported by said awning frame, at least two supporting members extending downwardly from the lower surface of said awning frame and adapted to engage and slide on said rail members of said supporting frames, at least one connecting projection extending downwardly from said lower surface of said awning frame spaced from said downwardly extending supporting members and adapted to freely slide on the upper surface of an adjacent awning frame, and at least one connecting projection extending upwardly from the upper surface of said awning frame opposite said downwardly extending supporting members adapted to freely slide on the lower surface of an adjacent awning frame engaging said downwardly extending connecting projection on the same.

JORGE TEOFILO FREEMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 20,085 Parisen Apr. 27, 1858 109,007 Hildebrand Nov. 8, 1870 

